Wallboard attachment

ABSTRACT

An elongate rigid plastic extrusion, adhered to the back face of gypsum wallboard along the vertical edges, with an elongate tubular portion, projecting rearwardly, lockingly engaged in a plurality of spring clips which are clipped onto the two opposite faces of a steel stud.

1 1, Elm flaws Eefi 1 1 1 1 3,731,447 Dawdy et a5. 1 1 May 8, 1973 [54] WALLBOARD ATTACHMENT [56] References Cited [75] Inventors: Jack A. Dawdy, Kenmore; Donald UNITED STATES PATENTS g' Tonawanda both of 3,037,590 6 1962 Pavlecka .1 ....52/481 3,184,013 5/1965 Pavlecka ....52 481 [73] Assigneez National Gypsum Company, 3,429,090 2/1969 Metelnick ..52/489 fal0,N.Y. Primary Examiner10hn E. Murtagh Flled: 251 1972 Attorney-Robert F. Hausc 21 Appl.No.: 229,295

[57 ABSTRACT 52 U.S. c1 ..52/489,52/48l elongate rigid Plastic extrusion adhered 51 1111. c1 ..E04b 2/28, E04b 2/76 back face of gYPsum WallbOard the Vertical 581 Field of Search ..52/481,511 489 edges with an elongate tubular Pom, Pmiecfing 52/483 508 498 241 rearwardly, lockingly engaged in a plurality of spring clips which are clipped onto the two opposite faces of a steel stud.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented May 8, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. i

Patented May 8,1973

2 SheetsSheet 2 Fig.2

Fig. 3

WALLBOARD ATTACHMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The most common method of installing drywall involves screwing or nailing gypsum wallboard to vertical studs, followed by applying cementitious materials over the screw heads or nail heads and over the joints to conceal the screw heads or nail heads and joints. Wallboard can be mounted with exposed joints which are aesthetically acceptable. These exposed joint systems are in need of improved means for affixing the wallboard which means are inherently concealed, to avoid the step of applying cementitious material over screw heads or nail heads.

The exposed joint technique of erecting wallboards is presently used with predecorated wallboards and the wallboards are affixed to studs by an adhesive. The use of adhesives has certain potential problems and disadvantages. The wallboard must be held in place by some temporary structure while the adhesive develops sufficient bond. Secondly, an adhesive bond can be improperly produced on a construction site and the existence of an insufficient bond will not be determinable because it is hidden from view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel wallboard attachment means and particularly to cooperating elements, one of which is factory-adhered to the back of wallboard and the other of which is clipped onto one of the two outer faces of a wall stud. The factory-adhered element is an elongate tubular rearward protrusion and the clip consists essentially of means for attachment to the stud. and a pair of outwardly opening short cylindrical holding elements, open along one side of the cylinder for forced insertion therein of the board-adhered tubular protrusion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel combination of elements for detachably snapping a wall-board onto concealed holding means.

It is a further object of the invention to provide novel wallboard concealed holding means which maintain the wallboard rigidly in place, yet readily detachable.

It is a further object to provide wallboard holding means readily usable by relatively unskilled applicators, and employing relatively low cost elements.

These and other objects of the invention will be more readily apparent when considered in relation to the preferred embodiment as set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a building partition wall embodying the present invention, portions being broken away.

FIG. 2 is sectional plan view of the partition wall of FIG. 1 taken on line 2-2.-

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the partition wall of FIG. 1 taken on line 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the portion of wall of FIG. 2 taken on line 4-4.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of a modified form of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown a partition wall erected vertically between a floor track 12 and a ceiling track 14. wallboard 16, preferably of two foot width and room height, is affixed to studs 18 on both the front face 20 and the rear face 22 of the wall 10.

In erecting the wall 10, the floor track 12 and the ceiling track 14 are first attached respectively to a floor and a ceiling, not shown. The bottom and top of each stud 18 is affixed within the floor track 12 and ceiling track 14 respectively by conventional means, not shown.

The studs 18 have a cross-sectional shape consisting ofa l /3 inch wide central web 24 disposed perpendicular to the plane of the wall 10 and from each vertical edge of web 24 there extends a V2 inch wide flange 26, forming a C-shaped cross-section. Web 24 has a plurality of openings 28, which in the present embodiment are about I A; inches X 1 54 inches openings spaced 4" apart center to center with the 1 :4; inches dimension being perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the stud.

In one out of each three openings 28 there is affixed, on each side of the stud, a clip 30. Clip 30 is formed of spring steel and includes a central stud grasping portion 32, and at each outer extremity of the clip 30 there is an outwardly opening, elongate, circular cross-sectional slot 34.

The stud grasping portion 32 is formed from portions of the spring steel of the clip 30 and includes a small U- bend 36 for grasping the outer edge of flange 26 and a large U-bend 38 for fitting tightly around the adjacent 1 V4 inches side of opening 28. Large U-bend 38 also includes a small detent 40 for firmly retaining the clip on the stud 18.

The slots 34, at each end of clip 30, are each a major portion of a cylinder formed to receive and retain a tubular element having an outside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the circular slot, which dimension may be about three-eighths inch.

Each wallboard 16 has an elongate support strip 42 adhesively affixed to the wallboard back face 44 along each vertical edge 46 which includes an elongate base 48 adhered to the back face 44 and an elongate tubular portion 50 which is parallel to the back face 44, spaced therefrom, and is removably affixed within the circular slots 34of a plurality of clips 30. Tubular portion 50 has an outside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the circular slots 34.

The support strip 42 is preferably a rigid plastic extrusion. The base 48 is disposed with one side edge 52 coplanar with one vertical edge 46 of wallboard 16. The tubular portion 50 is spaced inwardly from the side edge 52 exactly half the distance between the two circular slots 34 on clips 30. Each of the two adjacent wallboards abutting over a stud 18 have a support strip 42 along the edge of the back face 44 and when the wallboards are abutted, the support strip bases 48 are also abutted and .the tubular portions 50 of the two abutting supportstrips both fit into the respective circular slots 34 of the plurality of clips 30 on that particular stud 18.

The wallboards are preferably produced in a factory with the two support strips 42 firmly adhered to the back face 44 along each of the two board edges 46, since a factory application can be made with greater and more consistent good bond, and the reliability of the bond can be better confirmed by the visible inspection thereof before installation.

After delivery of the precombined board and support strip to a job, the clips 30 are attached to studs, and the board is raised into place, and lightly tapped along the edges, as by the palm of the hand, snapping the tubular portions 50 into the circular slots 34, whereby the board is rigidly affixed to the studs, in final position, with edges automatically disposed in firm, aligned abutting relationship.

in FIG. 5 a modified rigid plastic clip 54 is shown, which is produced by a plastic extrusion, sliced into short lengths, including a stud grasping portion 56 and cylindrical cross-sectional slots 58, which functions similar to clips 30.

Having completed a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, so that others may practice the same, we contemplate that variations may be made without departing from the essence of the invention.

We claim:

1. A demountable wall construction comprising a plurality of spaced, parallel wall supporting studs, said studs each having a pair of opposed faces to which wallboard is affixed thereby forming two opposed wall surfaces, said wallboard having elongate support strips adhered to the back face of said wallboard, said studs having a plurality of clips affixed thereto at spaced positions therealong, said clips having'outwardly opening slots, said support strips having a rearwardly disposed elongate tubular portions, said tubular portions being disposed withinsaid slots of said plurality of clips, said slots having a cross-sectional configuration including an outwardly opening portion of a dimension less than the maximum width'of said tubular portion disposed within said slot, whereby said wallboard is held adjacent said studs on each side thereof.

2. A demountable wall construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said clips have a pair of slots disposed one on each end of said clips, said slots on one end ofa plurality of clips holding therein a tubular portion of a support strip on one piece of wallboard, said slots on the other end of said plurality of clips holding therein a tubular portion of a support strip on an adjacent piece of wallboard.

3. A demountable wall construction as defined in claim 2 wherein said support strips include a base portion, said base portion of each said support strip being adhered to the back face of one of said wallboards, said base portion of each said support strip having one side disposed coplanar with the side edge of the said wallboard to which it is adhered.

4. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said slots have a cross-section which forms the major portion ofa circle, said tubular portion being ofa circular cross-section substantially equal in diameter to the inside diameter of said slots.

5. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said studs have a web and a pair of flanges, said web having a plurality of openings, said clips each having two U-bend portions opening towards one another, one said U-bend portion being disposed about the edge of one of said stud flanges, the other of said U-bend portions extending through one of said web openings.

6. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said clips are formed from spring steel and said support strips are plastic extrusions.

7. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said clips are short sections of a relatively ri i d plastic extrusion and said support strips are long plas 1c extrusions.

8. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said support strips are plastic extrusions including a base portion and a rearwardly protruding tubular portion, said base portion being substantially wider than the diameter of said tubular portion and having one edge coplanar with the wallboard edge, said tubular portion being centered relative to the two side edges of said base portion.

9. A demountable partition as defined in claim 8 wherein said wallboards are each about two feet wide and each has only two said support strips, said support strips being adhered to two opposite edge, portions of the wallboard back face.

10. A demountable partition as defined in claim 9 wherein said studs have a web and a'pair of flanges, said web having a plurality of openings, saidclips each having' two U-bend portions opening towards one another, one said U-bend portion being disposed about the edge of one of said stud flanges, the other of said U-bend portions extending through one of said web openings. 

1. A demountable wall construction comprising a plurality of spaced, parallel wall supporting studs, said studs each having a pair of opposed faces to which wallboard is affixed thereby forming two opposed wall surfaces, said wallboard having elongate support strips adhered to the back face of said wallboard, said studs having a plurality of clips affixed thereto at spaced positions therealong, said clips having outwardly opening slots, said support strips having a rearwardly disposed elongate tubular portions, said tubular portions being disposed within said slots of said plurality of clips, said slots having a cross-sectional configuration including an outwardly opening portion of a dimension less than the maximum width of said tubular portion disposed within said slot, whereby said wallboard is held adjacent said studs on each side thereof.
 2. A demountable wall construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said clips have a pair of slots disposed one on each end of said clips, said slots on one end of a plurality of clips holding therein a tubular portion of a support strip on one piece of wallboard, said slots on the other end of said plurality of clips holding therein a tubular portion of a support strip on an adjacent piece of wallboard.
 3. A demountable wall construction as defined in claim 2 wherein said support strips include a base portion, said base portion of each said support strip being adhered to the back face of one of said wallboards, said base portion of each said support strip having one side disposed coplanar with the side edge of the said wallboard to which it is adhered.
 4. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said slots have a cross-section which forms the major portion of a circle, said tubular portion being of a circular cross-section substantially equal in diameter to the inside diameter of said slots.
 5. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said studs have a web and a pair of flanges, said web having a plurality of openings, said clips each having two U-bend portions opening towards one another, one said U-bend portion being disposed about the edge of one of said stud flanges, the other of said U-bend portions extending through one of said web openings.
 6. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said clips are formed from spring steel and said support strips are plastic extrusions.
 7. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said clips are short sections of a relatively rigid plastic extrusion and said support strips are long plastic extrusions.
 8. A demountable partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said support strips are plastic extrusions including a base portion and a rearwardly protruding tubular portion, said base portion being substantially wider than the diameter of said tubular portion and having one edge coplanar with the wallboard edge, said tubular portion being centered relative to the two side edges of said base portion.
 9. A demountable partition as defined in claim 8 wherein said wallboards are each about two feet wide and each has only two said support strips, said support strips being adhered to two opposite edge portions of the wallboard back face.
 10. A demountable partition as defined in claim 9 wherein said studs have a web and a pair of flanges, said web having a plurality of openings, said clips each having two U-bend portions opening towards one another, one said U-bend portion being disposed about the edge of one of said stud flanges, the other of said U-bend portions extending through one of said web openings. 